210 g | 135 × 51 × 51 mm | Molinetto, Italy
Acquired in: René Benko’s Villa Ansaldi, Italy
Description: 100ml bottle of glass, filled with amber coloured bitter aparitivo. Expired on 01-08-2022.
Fun facts: Expired since 2022 the bottle preserves not the taste, but the memory of a spirit of dealmaking that has long fallen out of place.
Benko’s trace: A small bottle of Aperitivo-Bitter, 10 cl, sealed and untouched, carrying the vitality of Italian gatherings. Once part of René Benko’s Villa Ansaldi, it embodies the ritual of beginnings — a toast imagined, a conversation yet to unfold. Its amber liquid has never been poured, yet it preserves the spirit of anticipation: the prelude to deals, dreams, and ambitions in a world of empire-building. A tiny vessel, yet a potent reminder that every rise begins with the first sip.