Tulwadi proudly claims to be the first distillery founded by a woman in 200 years. In fact, I believe Heather Nelson is likely the first woman in history to establish, fund, and manage a malt whisky distillery. History is not without examples of women operating illicit stills, nor without precedents of women managing distilleries (such as Helen Cumming of Cardhu and Bessie Williamson of Laphroaig), not to mention the increasing number of women serving as distillery managers today, yet none of this diminishes Heather Nelson's achievement in the slightest. Nelson was a television producer who grew up in Ross-shire in a farming family. She holds a chemistry degree and is currently pursuing a diploma in distilling at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. The distillery is located on the Fearn Peninsula, 5.4 miles southeast of Tain. During the Second World War, an airfield was built here for Royal Navy pilot training and served as a base for a "Barracuda" torpedo bomber squadron. Tulwadi has established a "Distillery Founders Club" (membership fee £595, which entitles members to priority access to a 200ml bottle of new make spirit, a bottle of Tulwadi Single Malt Founders Reserve, and two additional malt whiskies—a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old—before regular release). Additionally, the 70-litre casks from the distillery's first year of production have been made available for limited purchase at £2,000 per cask. The distillery is expected to commence production in 2018.

The Fearn Peninsula is world-famous for its Pictish heritage and Viking connections, evidencing millennia of human settlement and agriculture. The magnificent Hilton of Cadboll Stone (c. 800 AD), a masterpiece of Pictish artistry, originally stood near Glenmorangie Distillery and its intricate design now prominently adorns the brand's identity.