To Jack or not to Jack?

Awhile ago, I mentioned my homebrewing hobby to my mom, and she suggested I make applejack.1 Apparently, some of our ancestors made applejack within living memory. If you don't know, applejack is freeze - distilled cider. Ethanol has a lower freezing point than water. So, if you get a bunch of hard cider really cold, the water will freeze first, and you're left with something more alcoholic than you started with. Unfortunately, you also concentrate nasty things, like fusels. Fusels give you awful hangovers and taste terrible. So, the resulting beverage will give you awful hangovers and taste terrible. I believe this gets a bit better with age. But, like, what exactly is the benefit of this dreaded business? You get something that's a little more boozy? If you want to get drunk that badly, can't you just as have another glass? Or buy vodka? That seems far less complicated. Per my understanding, home distillation is also illegal (though only in the bare technical sense that jaywalking…