allan: I think you made a good decision to return the amber flame, because Dunhills in NYC is vastly overpriced compared to a few internet stores. As to whether the amber flame smokes better, you will get a lot of opinions. Personally I like smoking the root briars best, but they are rare and expensive. The amber root briars have a taste which does not taste quite as good and requires more breaking in. I have only one amber flame and it has a slightly different stain, as far as my taste detects, which is a good one. (Stains determine the taste of a briar until it is very much smoked). But that is only one pipe. The fact is that the actual direction of the grain does not affect the taste of the pipe. It can be straight or flame, crossgrain or random. It is important that is be tight with a minimum of soft wood. My amber flame has a very tight grain and smokes unusually well. Hope this is some help.
