@dominion451: I'm gonna have to go a "no" on this.
I know I'm the DM, but I hate being the bad guy. And, I like the question. It was clever.
But I'm going to have to stand with my initial arguments... Aside from the fact that I just don't want to start getting in the habit of "potion swig management", because it's gonna be a pain, I probably would have done it anyway and just griped a bunch about it...
But there's just two aspects from a roleplaying perspective that I just really want to hang on to here.
1. Had the party been willing to contribute to helping pay for an acolyte to help out with more potion-brewing for the community, the church would have been more likely to give out more potions for your party's personal ventures. The party opted against that, arguing that they weren't sure that they could afford the costs, despite the fact that in the last couple days of going in and out of the ruins they've pulled in at least enough money to cover a month's salary for the acolyte.
Granted, you don't know as players how much loot is available, but you've been dragging out some gold. There has to be a consequence for that in the form of limited potions. Of course in the future, you could agree to help provide money for access to more potions, but you'll be working a bit harder to make sure you meet your financial responsibilities.
2. I really am stuck on the idea that from a "loot and scoot" perspective, letting one potion go a longer way would help everyone get in and out when they're in a bind... But from a roleplaying perspective, where a lot of this should be about the story we're telling, the consequences of choices, decisions, and actions made, and living with those decisions, I would really prefer this be a difficult decision. I think that from a storytelling perspective, forcing Gilly (aka KCC) to make difficult decisions is going to make a better story in the long run than allowing an easy out. I could be wrong, but I hope I'm not, and I hope you players understand the potential this can add to what were doing than just ransacking a dungeon like this is just a board game.
It's a lot of weight to put on @KCC's shoulders, and Gilly's by default. And if this winds up a situation where you guys were like, "screw you then this game sucks", I will just come out of this feeling like I made an unfavorable choice as a DM for the sake of the story, and the potential it has.
So I'm gonna go with "no". The potion is by R.A.W. mechanically nothing more than a Cleric's Cure Light Wounds spell in bottled form, and cannot be doled out little-by-little any more than a miracle cast can.
I'm sorry.
