Bloody Maria.
I do a Gin Mary - replacing the vodka with Tangueray. I also use Kimchee marinade in my bloodies along with olive juice and other stuff. It may sound odd but it really gives bloodies a rich and spicy back bone. Generally speaking though, a bloody is hair of the dog so, I'm not looking to go overly spicy while nursing a hangover.
I've always added some olive juice after tasting the deliciousness of a dirty martini. It is a must for me too. How strange for such commonality between us lol.
Recently, Cammy made herself a pickle juice martini and it was awesome too. So you guessed it, I tried it in my Marias. It needs to be a quality pickle juice... I make some pickles at home now because my hydroponic herb unit has dill growing out of it 5 feet high. I used my juice, but I have also used the juice from Grillos pickles. I love this additional flavor too.
I'm actually adding a little of both juices now and like it best.
I have a cool citrus juicer on my bar that can squeeze out the juice of any sized citrus fruit now. It's a large stand alone unit with a big arm on a lever. You put half a citrus fruit in the holder and just pull down on the big arm... juices the thing in seconds. It makes it so easy. My point with bringing this up is that I now also add the juice of one whole lime in my bloody Marias.
I also add a little "wash-ur-sister" sauce and some fresh horseradish (if I have it).
I use a pre-made mix that I like out of Charleston that is labeled as their spicy version. But I usually do add a few splashes of a hot sauce in. Your point about not wanting it too spicy is great though. There's a line you definitely don't want to cross with the heat (especially if you're hungover)... I need to start paying more attention to this and maybe start pulling back on adding the additional hot sauce.
We like to add some thick cut bacon, pepperocini peppers, and a few fat olives in... along with a celery stalk. I'll add a fresh pickle of mine or a Grillo spear too. Those are must adds at the end. I also will throw in some of my fresh cherry peppers or a Thai that I have growing in my hydroponic unit too if I see some ripe peppers staring at me.
