Criswell explained that the idea for the song came from alcohol advertisements that he would see on billboards while traveling to visit his daughter at the University of Kentucky.

[1] Taste of Country's Billy Dukes called the song a "boozy mid-tempo track" and noted the use of steel guitar.

[2] McCollum revealed that his label initially wanted to release another track, "Hurricane", as the lead single but that he convinced them that "Handle on You" was special.

[3] Tom Roland of Billboard compared the composition of the track to those of George Strait, noting "it's built around a lyrical twist that's obvious without beating the listener over the head.

McCollum dismissed these comparisons, noting that while he was inspired by Strait, "there's only one king" and joking "maybe one day, there'll be a prince of country music".