Southbound Spirit: Ivey Childers on Tequila, Tenacity, and Truth

Editorial Staff
Sep 30
6 min read

Unlike the celebrity-backed tequilas of late, the brand is rooted in a deeply personal story

When you meet Ivey Childers, there’s no mistaking that she builds things with equal parts grit, grace, and imagination. Best known for founding IveyCake, the bakery that sweetened Nashville’s celebrations for years, Childers has long been a creator who works at the intersection of craft and community. But where buttercream and sugar once defined her canvas, today it’s blue agave and oak barrels. With her latest venture, Southbound Tequila, Childers has stepped into one of the fastest-growing categories in the spirits industry.

Unlike the celebrity-backed brands flooding the market, Southbound is rooted not in borrowed star power but in a deeply personal story. For over a decade, Childers chased the perfect margarita recipe as a hobby after long bakery days, eventually realizing that what she wanted—tequila that could shine equally in cocktails and as a neat pour—didn’t exist in one bottle. That pursuit became obsession, and obsession became mission. With Southbound, Childers has created a brand that reflects not just her entrepreneurial spirit but also her belief that celebration and intention can—and should—go hand in hand.

From Cake to Cocktails

Ivey Childers’ entrepreneurial journey began in flour-dusted kitchens rather than distilleries. At IveyCake, she discovered that success wasn’t only about the product but about the experience it created. “Southbound started because of a creative hobby I began at the end of long bakery days,” she recalls. “I’d unwind by chasing the perfect margarita, which led me to searching for the perfect tequila.”

Ten years later, her experiments evolved into a conviction: no single brand had captured the balance she craved—clean enough to sip neat, versatile enough to hold its own in cocktails. What started as a private ritual became a public mission, leading to Southbound’s creation. Just as her bakery celebrated life’s occasions with care and intention, Southbound carries the same philosophy forward: celebration must always be underpinned by thoughtfulness.

Serial entrepreneurship demands more than ambition; it requires resilience in the face of uncertainty. For Childers, curiosity is the cornerstone. “The best entrepreneurs hold both vision and adaptability,” she says. “You need the courage to jump all in, but also the humility to learn, pivot, and let the process co-create with you.”

That balance—between courage and humility—is what has allowed her to build across industries. She views imperfection not as failure but as raw material. It’s a philosophy rooted in her baking days, where experimentation, patience, and the occasional flop led to breakthroughs. At Southbound, those same habits fuel her ability to refine recipes, challenge industry conventions, and shepherd her team through the messy middle stages of growth.

The bakery taught Childers two lessons she never forgot. First: quality without shortcuts. Trust, she believes, is earned when customers know what to expect every time. Second: a brand isn’t just a product, it’s a relationship.

“At IveyCake, people came not only for sweets but for the way we made them feel,” she reflects. Southbound applies the same principle. The tequila must be excellent, but it must also be a trusted companion—something you’d proudly pour for friends or bring into your home. That distinction, she argues, is what transforms a bottle into a brand.

Why Tequila, Why Now

Tequila has been the fastest-growing spirit in the United States, outpacing vodka and whiskey. But Childers insists her draw to it wasn’t simply opportunistic. “Consumers are beginning to understand that when tequila is made with the highest quality blue agave and authenticity, it offers a beautiful sipping experience,” she says.

Unlike other spirits, tequila connects culture, craft, and nature. Aged expressions like Reposado and Añejo provide nuance, while Blanco captures freshness. Southbound leans into that spectrum, ensuring its profile suits both classic cocktails and adventurous new creations.

Southbound’s mission is not to replace whiskey or vodka but to expand tequila’s cultural role. “Tequila has crossed over from being seen mainly as shots to being embraced as a mindful, cleaner-for-you spirit,” Childers explains. Today’s consumers are intentional: they want authenticity and versatility.

With Southbound, a margarita isn’t the limit—it’s the starting line. Reposado can anchor an espresso martini, Blanco can reinterpret a negroni, and Añejo can bring depth to an Old Fashioned. This broader lens, Childers says, is what makes tequila the “next big thing” in cocktails.

In an era where star names dominate liquor shelves, Childers laughs off comparisons. “How dare you say I’m not a celebrity!” she jokes. But beneath the humor is conviction: Southbound is defined by process, not fame.

She traveled to Jalisco herself, blending 80 percent lowland and 20 percent highland agave, selecting a 60-hour slow-cooking process, and aging expressions in Tennessee whiskey barrels as a nod to her roots. It’s not marketing spin; it’s biography in a bottle.

“Celebrity-backed brands may bring awareness, but authenticity and craft are what people truly connect with,” she says. Southbound, in that sense, is as much memoir as it is mezcal.

For Childers, tequila is no fad. Just as whiskey carved its permanent place in American cocktail culture, tequila is now doing the same. Its clean complexity and year-round versatility make it a natural addition to the modern bar cart.

Another factor: women. Nearly 70 percent of tequila shoppers are female, often purchasing for at-home entertaining. That demographic shift makes tequila not just a drink but part of lifestyle integration. “It’s become about how people gather, host, and celebrate,” she says. “That’s long-term, not short-term hype.”

ThE Juggle: Founder and Mother

Behind the polished branding and crafted cocktails lies another demanding role: motherhood. Childers is candid about the challenges. “It is never perfectly balanced,” she admits. “Some seasons require more from me as a mother, others as a founder.”

Her strategy is presence over perfection. When with her children, she strives to be fully with them. When at work, she shows up fully there. “It’s less about splitting evenly and more about bringing my whole self to each space,” she says.

Parenting has also made her a sharper leader. Children, she notes, teach patience and listening. They remind her that not everything is urgent and that being seen matters more than being right. Childers credits her daughters as unexpected mentors. Their reflections—often literal mirrors of her moods—remind her to pause and check in with herself before reacting. That practice has carried over into business, where leading with patience and listening often yields stronger results than reacting with urgency.

“What I want them to see,” she says of her children, “is that their mother followed her truth. I want them to inherit courage, not perfection.”

Entrepreneurship can be consuming, so Childers leans on grounding practices. Her toolkit includes bodywork, journaling, meditation, prayer, accountability, and time in nature. Rituals like tea or breathwork act as anchors during hectic days. Creatively, she recharges through recipe development for herself. Physically, it’s movement and exercise. Spiritually, it’s prayer and journaling—sometimes alongside her daughters. Each practice reorients her to presence, joy, and curiosity.

Redefining Success

For Childers, success isn’t defined by exits or market share alone. It’s about building something aligned with her truth while staying fully present with her family.

“Success is building something that reflects who I am,” she says, “while still raising daughters who feel loved, seen, and free to follow their own paths.” Sometimes, that means scaling distribution; other times, it’s as simple as savoring a slow weekend at home.

At its heart, Southbound is both brand and metaphor: a reminder to head in the direction that feels true, to trust the road even when it winds, and to know that both grit and grace can shape something lasting.

In the world of spirits, it’s tempting to focus solely on liquid and label. But with Southbound, Ivey Childers reminds us that what’s in the bottle is inseparable from the hands that made it, the stories behind it, and the communities that gather around it. Her journey—from baker to distiller, from mother to founder—demonstrates that entrepreneurship is less about mastering balance and more about showing up fully, wherever you are needed.

As tequila continues its rise in American culture, Southbound stands as proof that authenticity resonates louder than star power. It’s not just about creating a premium spirit but about honoring intention, craft, and courage. In Childers’ hands, tequila becomes more than a drink: it’s a celebration of resilience, ritual, and the art of presence.

Whether sipped neat, shaken into a margarita, or poured into an Old Soul cocktail in downtown Franklin, Tennessee, Southbound carries a message as clear as its liquid: that success is sweetest when it’s savored with authenticity.

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