BackgroundStudies have found that 60Co‐γ irradiation can simulate the effects of aging and enhance the flavor of distilled spirits. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 kGy 60Co‐γ irradiation doses on the key aroma components in newly produced navel orange distilled spirits and thus to determine the mechanism of their aging distilled spirits.ResultsThe identification of aroma compounds demonstrated that ethyl hexanoate, D‐limonene, ethyl octanoate, 3‐methyl‐1‐butanol and linalool are the key aroma compounds in navel orange distilled spirits, which were increased except linalool at irradiation of 2‐6 kGy doses. Irradiation treatment simulated the effects of the aging of navel orange distilled spirits by promoting the content of total acids, total esters and aldehydes. Irradiation doses of 2‐6 kGy increased the aroma intensity of navel orange distilled spirits, reaching the optimum at 6 kGy. However, the irradiation doses as high as 8 and 10 kGy decreased the content of esters in navel orange distilled spirits, which led to a deterioration of the spirit flavor.ConclusionLow doses of 60Co‐γ irradiation can simulate the effects of the aging by increasing the content of key aromatic compounds in navel orange distilled spirits.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.