The Host's Guide

The 7 Quote Napkins Hosts Reorder Most

We ranked every set in our collection by what 5,000+ verified reviewers actually buy again — and matched each one to the kind of party it belongs at.

Organic cotton cocktail napkin printed with a Dorothy Parker champagne quote, held at a table set with champagne glasses
4.91Average rating
5,000+Verified reviews
10 yrsForbes Travel Guide
100%Organic cotton

Short on time

Three picks that cover most parties

Best overall

Drinking Quotes, First Edition

The set that started it all, and the most reviewed in the collection. Bogart, Hemingway, Churchill — 25 quotes that carry any cocktail hour.

See the set

Best for a dinner party

Wine Quotes

Quieter humour that works at a seated table, not just a bar. The set people buy when the guest list skews mixed.

See the set

Best to give away

Love Quotes

Five colourways including Sherbet and Sorbet, so it suits a shower or a wedding table without looking like a party favour.

See the set

First, the thing under the glass

Why hotels never hand you a paper napkin

A cocktail glass sweats. Paper absorbs that water, then gives up: it pills, it sticks to the base of the glass, and it arrives at the table in pieces. That is the whole reason five-star bars use cotton — it holds condensation without disintegrating, and it leaves nothing behind on the glass.

Five Star Napkins have been supplied to hotels and resorts for over a decade, and Forbes Travel Guide has trusted the same product for more than ten years. What changed recently is that the quote sets made them worth keeping on a home bar cart rather than in a service cupboard.

  • Material100% GOTS-certified organic cotton, single use
  • Size4.5" × 4.5" cocktail square
  • Per pack50 napkins, 25 different quotes — no repeats on a table
  • ColoursWhite and black across most sets; Love adds Red, Sorbet and Sherbet
  • ShippingShips from our US warehouse, free worldwide over $75

How we ranked them

Ordered by what people actually buy again

These are all our own sets, so we did not pretend to referee between brands. Instead the order comes from our own review data: total verified reviews per set, weighted by rating, across a catalogue averaging 4.91 stars. A set with 249 reviews has been tested by a lot more dinner parties than one with 5.

Underneath each entry we have added the occasion it suits, because volume alone will not tell you whether a whiskey quote belongs at your mother-in-law's birthday.

“Never trust a man who doesn't drink.”Humphrey Bogart
No. 1

Drinking Quote Napkins, First Edition

Best overall · Cocktail hour

The most reviewed set we make, and the one most likely to get picked up and read. The writing does the work: Bogart, Hemingway and a run of lines dry enough to survive a second reading. Twenty-five quotes across the pack means the table never repeats itself.

249 reviews50 napkins25 quotes$34.95
Shop first edition
White cotton cocktail napkin printed with a wine quote
No. 2

Wine Quote Napkins

Best for a seated dinner · Book club

Softer humour than the drinking set, which is exactly why it travels further. “A party without wine is just a meeting” lands with people who would find a whiskey joke a bit much. This is the set to buy if you host mixed groups.

54 reviewsWhite or black25 quotes$34.95
Shop wine quotes
Stack of cotton love quote cocktail napkins
No. 3

Love Quote Napkins

Best for showers and weddings · Best gift

The only set with five colourways — White, Black, Red, Sorbet and Sherbet — which is why it ends up on engagement parties and bridal showers. The quotes lean literary rather than sentimental: Fitzgerald and Austen, not greeting-card copy.

43 reviews5 colours25 quotes$34.95
Shop love quotes
“Shaken, not stirred.”James Bond, Goldfinger
No. 4

Drinking Quote Napkins, Second Edition

Best for repeat hosts · Literary crowd

Written for people who already own the first edition and host often enough to need new material. Twenty-five fresh quotes, heavier on the literary end — Pasteur on wine and philosophy sits alongside Bond. Buy both editions if you entertain the same friends regularly.

33 reviewsWhite or black25 quotes$34.95
Shop second edition
“Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you Champagne.”Champagne Quotes
No. 5

Champagne Quote Napkins

Best for celebrations · New Year's Eve

Narrow on purpose. Coco Chanel on drinking champagne in love and out of it, Dorothy Parker on never having enough of it. If the occasion involves a toast, this is the set — and it is the one that photographs best next to a coupe.

23 reviewsWhite or black25 quotes$34.95
Shop champagne quotes
“Marriage: When dating goes too far.”Marriage Quotes
No. 6

Marriage Quote Napkins

Best for anniversaries · Rehearsal dinners

The set that gets read out loud. It is affectionately unromantic, which is what makes it work at an anniversary party where everyone in the room has been married long enough to laugh. Not the one for the ceremony itself.

22 reviewsWhite or black25 quotes$34.95
Shop marriage quotes
Stack of white cotton whiskey quote cocktail napkins
No. 7

Whiskey Quote Napkins

Best for a home bar · Best for men

Newest of the seven and the most specific. Twenty-five whiskey quotes, which is either exactly right for your bar cart or entirely wrong for your dinner table — there is no middle ground, and that is rather the point. The reliable answer to what to get someone who owns three bottles of rye.

5 reviewsWhite or black25 quotes$34.95
Shop whiskey quotes

Side by side

All seven, compared

SetBest forReviewsColoursPrice
Drinking, First EditionCocktail hour249White, Black$34.95
WineSeated dinner54White, Black$34.95
LoveShowers, weddings435 colours$34.95
Drinking, Second EditionRepeat hosts33White, Black$34.95
ChampagneCelebrations23White, Black$34.95
MarriageAnniversaries22White, Black$34.95
WhiskeyHome bar5White, Black$34.95

Four sets, one table, no repeats

Most hosts end up with three or four sets — one for cocktails, one for dinner, one to give away. Buying them together is where the pricing changes.

$34.951 pack · 50 napkins
$59.422 packs · save 15%
$111.844 packs · save 20% + free gift
Build your set

Before you order

Questions hosts ask

Are these washable or single use?

Single use. They are organic cotton rather than a cloth napkin you launder — the point is the feel of cotton without the pile of laundry after a party.

Are all 50 napkins the same quote?

No. Each pack holds 50 napkins across 25 different quotes, so a table of guests will not read the same line twice. Single-quote packs are sold separately for birthdays.

How many packs do I need for a party?

Plan on two to three napkins per guest for a cocktail party. A single 50-pack covers roughly 20 people comfortably.

What size are they?

4.5" × 4.5", the standard cocktail square. Larger quarter-fold and dinner sizes are available if you are serving food rather than drinks.

Do they ship free?

Free shipping worldwide on orders over $75, sent from our US warehouse.

Rankings reflect verified review volume and rating across the Five Star Napkins catalogue as of 2026. All products listed are our own. Prices shown in USD and subject to change.