"[7] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine took note of that when compared to Keith's previous album, Bullets in the Gun (released in 2010), Clancy's Tavern "pushes humor to the forefront and generally isn’t so insistent on driving the beat into arena country territory, letting the melodies and music relax."

"[8] Randy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times noted that "Like the corner bar, this is familiar territory for Keith and his fans, and he doesn’t seem to give a whit about stepping out of his comfort zone.

[13] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe criticized "Clancy's Tavern is a fairly rote reiteration of the same album that Toby Keith has been re-recording once a year since 2005's Honkytonk University.

While there's something to be said for his work ethic and relative dependability, a good-sized chunk of Clancy's Tavern feels phoned in, and Keith is simply too big a personality and too dynamic a singer to get away with something lackadaisical.

"[15] Brian Mansfield of the USA Today surmised that "Other than the opening Made in America, Keith seems to have worked through the ultra-patriotic anthems and macho declarations that have been staples of his recent albums.