No, seriously, why there is no empty vial left after Henry drinks a potion? “Marigold Decoction” for instance.
Does he eat the vial alongside with the potion? Otherwise why empty vial does not appear in the inventory? Or on the ground at least (although littering is rude even in 1403).
Realism is claimed as one of key features of the game and isn’t that self-disappearing potion vial goes against realism we was prommised?
Fun video in the subject:
Probably the same reason you don’t need an empty vial when you brew a new potion. 
After drinking a potion the empty vial teleports to the next alchemy station…
Ah, the good old teleportation. Yeah, it was real thing back then. Sadly we lost its secret.
Could be he tosses them aside, or we don’t need to know how many empty vials we have, so it’s not shown in the inventory screen
Could be he tosses them aside, or we don’t need to know how many empty vials we have, so it’s not shown in the inventory screen
Well it’s kinda on of many possible-ish explanation we can come up with now.
I mean it would be cool if we really have to manage things like empty vials: one empty vial appears in our inventory (with a real proper weight and so on) after consuming one potion. And those vials we could either just drop on the ground if we want to, or trade-in back to apothecary or herbalist.
Also, currently, alchemy benches in the game doesn’t feel like something real.
In real life you can not just walk into someone’s workshop of any kind and simply start using their workbenches and other gear. Well… without been rightfully kicked in the face and thrown out for it. And it is totally fair. You need to at least ask for it first: “Can I use that stuff of yours, please?”. That is the key point. You have to invest something (not talking only about the money here) in order to get access to something.
But in the game the whole world is kinda designed to be “always available” for you. Free unlimited access to almost all alchemy benches in the game? Pff…, sure! Use all of them as much as you want. It is completely unnatural and it is done completely wrong, well, in my opinion.
It would add an additional layer of immersion into the game, if you, as a player, could actually arrange use of certain alchemy bench for you self with its owner first.
Possible options for doing the thing:
That would be super awesome, because it would add that feeling of personal investment into arranging access to a certain alchemy bench, even is this was done just by simply asking.
Yeah, and there should be one (and only one) always and very easily accessible (“backup”) alchemy bench, if player if role playing as a total prick and managed to make every one of other alchemy bench owners completely mad on him.
Well, you can’t save your game after drinking alcohol in real life too.
Not everybody wants this kind of micro management. 
At least there are two (or three) restricted alchemy benches (aka in the monastery/Samopesh).
In the end it is (every game mechanic) a compromise.
What about making a MOD for the vials… 
Not everybody wants this kind of micro management:
Right! But the subject at hand has not that much micromanagement in it as you may think.
In KCD you have to pay to, say, to stay at the inn: 2 gr. for one night or 250 gr. for renting a room “forever”. That is more or less what I mean when talking about alchemy benches. The very same thing - simply pay or rent. All other possible ways I listed are optional. Easy as pie isn’t it?
What about making a MOD for the vials…
It would be cool, of course! We are waiting for modding toolkit, tho.
The thing about the empty potions’ vials is again there is no that much micromanagement in it. Let’s take archery in KCD for instance. Here are some statements about it:
Pretty complected and obviously a lot of micromanagement about the arrows. But no one really complains about it and asks to dumb it down. Why? Because KCD thoroughly simulates almost everything what makes archery an archery and the exact way it works.
So seriously, no one will be complaining about a simple empty vial appearing in the inventory after consuming a potion, because it is simply the way works. Well… unless you really eat the vial too, haha. On top of that - it’s, honestly, a less complected matter then, say, archery and arrows management.
Personally I don’t see any reasons why in KCD, a game with a few dozens of very realistic (some almost simulator-like) gameplay mechanics, should really avoid the one I’m talking about - empty potion vials, for instance.
Yeah, I do have a strong opinion all gameplay mechanics ideally should be consistently and equally deep.
Well, you can’t save your game after drinking alcohol in real life too.
Unless it’s a specific alcohol! Haha. 
