Is it a young plant? Is the taste worth keeping it? Are you sure it's basil? OK, that last one sounds stupid, however, I discovered that three of my 24 (experiment went too well LOL) "basil" ended up not basils at all, and I couldn't tell until they "bloomed" like the head of grass, not typical basil bloom. The plants looked identical, until then, so it is possible, a weed snuck into the seeds packet or pot. (And, I'm a container gardener with nothing but concrete to grow on, and living in a large city, so those seeds can travel far!)

I can think of worst things then basil that doesn't smell very much, but, still, that would really bum me out to have no smell on mine! I like the smell better then the taste!

Now, I'm no expert, however, not being an expert on gardening at all, I've been learning by reading a whole lot over the last couple of years, and the bleachy water set off a red flare in my memory. Several books said that tap water can be bad for plants, if it has additives like bleach or fluoride (sp?!) The advice as to what to do varies, but goes from buying distilled water to letting the water sit in the watering can for a day before using it. (I think the additives evaporate, but I'm not sure why.)

Hopefully, someone else has better ideas, but I'd consider throwing away the packet of seeds, so you don't have the same problem next year.

Assuming it's basil, the thing it needs is SUNLIGHT and heat. Without those 2 things, the plant cannot make its essential oils, which give it its unique flavour and aroma. Simple as that. It needs a good 6-8 hours of full sun a day at least.

As for the bleach - it's chlorine, added to the water supplies of most urban areas in the world to destroy bacteria, algae etc. If you leave water to sit for about 24 hours, the chlorine dissipates. Please note that horticulturists actually ADD more chlorine to their water supply when possible - it stops the growth of mosses, algae etc on the surface of soil in pots and kills a lot of other undesirable bugs as well. So chlorinated water isn't going to hurt your plants.

The age of the seed should have no bearing on the plant.

Basil seeds can be viable for 4-5 years, depending on how they're stored. It does vary considerably, however. If they germinate, they're viable!!

Because of the smallness of basil seeds they are open pollenated, meaning any near plant gets to be papa, the mama bears the seed. Like humans this brings all kinds of differences. The basil that fertilized your seed could be of a different type of basil. I travel some so I notice that there are differences in taste and smell depending on soil, light, water and other conditions both natural and man made. What you have is probably a basil just not to your taste. Let it grow. In Louisiana you may not be bringing it in for the winter but you can just leave it outside and if it dies during the winter try to taste test your next basil at a garden center. Ask the nursery if you can some will let you finger a leaf and some will actually hand you a leaf to try. Since there are so many basils on the market now you may find several you like better that the "normal basil" I loved the taste and smell of a rose basil I purchased about 7 years ago but have never found another plant.

Congratulations from growing from seed by the way. There is something in my soil that seems to prevent the plants that everyone states are easy to grow from seed from sprouting. I normally have to purchase new plants.

Mine has a very licorice like smell. I thought it was too much heat. I planted mine in March and it didn't sprout for 2 full months until my irrigation system broke and flooded my garden for weeks. Only after that good flooding did my basil and green bell peppers plants even break the surface. Now I am fighting the basil back!

Wow, thanks for the advice, everyone! People here are so friendly and helpful... it's such a relief to the brain after being accustomed to internet "discussions" looking like YouTube comments.

Anyway, I just moved one of the basil plants onto the roof and I hope nobody notices it or does anything to it. I'll let you know if the increased sunlight does the trick!

Give it plenty of root room; it gets pretty big. A chemical fertilizer with too much nitrogen can give it a funny taste. Try using an organic fertilizer (like fish fertilizer) and mixing some bone meal into the soil.